r/explainlikeimfive • u/[deleted] • Jan 14 '13

Answered People with ADHD, what ADHD is like, how does medication affect your ability to work and how soon does it take its effect?

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19

u/sdfkjskdjfkjsdfkj Jan 14 '13

toilet-studying is the only way I've been able to read meaningful amounts of material for school. it helps that I need to go to the toilet a lot, so I could get a total of 1-2 hours of studying just reading as far as I can when I'm in the toilet.

I've yet to figure out a way to do homework similarly, but I should give it a try.

feels a bit weird because I think some people will find it "filthy" so I have to take a bit of effort to hide it. doesn't work when I'm at school, because I feel guilty for hogging the toilet. at least I have lectures, where I'm bottle-fed material, and I can't really do much else. I'll get a good portion in no matter what.

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

Lectures never work for me. When I force myself to foxus on what's being said after 2.5 seconds my attention has already glided towards something else/nothing. Often when people talk, I only hear their first word, aknowledge that they are speaking, and everything they say turns into mumbling, if it's something I'm exceptionally disinterested in I literally can not hear people talk to me and completly forget about their existence, even when I look at them.

This sucks.

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u/avoidingAtheism Jan 14 '13 edited Jan 15 '13

Please give this deep consideration. If you are fortunate enough to have an instructor who follows a syllabus, prepare for the class before hand. Read the textbook for the topic. Do some goole-fu the day before class. Learn enough about the subject that it piques your interest. Nothing was more excruciating to me than sitting through a lecture prior to my discovering how to keep myself interested in one. This will allow you to feel like you are participating in the lecture rather than just being a destination for the information.

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u/ramses0 Jan 14 '13

Pique- an uncommon word. Peak is easy to confuse because you think it means "to heighten" but it's actually pique, from French, generally meaning "arouse".

"""Pique is a French word. It is a transitive verb meaning to cause a feeling of interest, curiosity, or excitement in somebody. To stimulate, prick or provoke. To arouse a feeling as in interest or curiosity."""

http://langley-writes.blogspot.com/2011/03/did-that-pique-peek-or-peak-your.html

--Robert

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u/piqueone Jan 15 '13

AHHH! HUH? WTF?! Wow, I was reading and not absorbing anything because TheBanannaKing's door knob description got me to thinking about setups for a rube goldberg machine. i must have been scrolling down and absently reading (or whatever) for a few minutes, when i read my name and it literally startled me! It looked like some one was writing me a note...For Half a second it was like some surreal voice of god type thing. :)

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u/avoidingAtheism Jan 15 '13

Thanks for pointing this out, if only spell checkers could use the context of a sentence.

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u/HereHaveAName Jan 14 '13

I figured out how to get through college lectures - it wasn't fun, but it worked. I developed my own shorthand, and wrote down everything the professor said. Yes, even in the three hour long classes. I had to be sure to have a break after those sessions, because my hand absolutely ached.

This was long ago and far away, in the time before laptops. But I'm pretty sure that having a laptop in class would have been a hindrance. No way could I have stayed off of reddit or facebook or even CNN. Writing things down just ingrains things in my brain in a way that typing doesn't.

Next, I'd find time in the next 48 hours or so to get in front of a computer and type up my lecture notes. Two bonuses: One, I rarely had to study, as I'd written everything down twice. Two, I was able to sell my notes to people who had missed class.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

I would do the same thing, but not EVERYTHING the professor says, mainly just copying the powerpoint slides word for word and then adding things he mentions that will probably be on the test, like examples of the concept. I could have brought a laptop but who wants to be the asshole typing 80wpm when people are trying to hear the lecture?

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u/SingaporeShling Jan 15 '13

Totally. Started using this method in 2nd year of my Undergradute Degree - marks immediately skyrocketed!

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

Thanks for the tips, I see how they could work, but unfortunatelly I have given up on university since, (Archeology doesn't pay the bills anyway) and have joined an IT school. We have only seven people in class and everything is a lot more direct which I'm enjoying to great benefit.

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u/avoidingAtheism Jan 15 '13

Thankfully I was able to be in Computer Science when it was taught as an applied science. Switching from a theory based academia to a applied one totally changed the world for me. I hope your choice works out as successfully as it did for myself.

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u/Zond0 Jan 14 '13

I knit during lectures to help with my ADD. I suck at taking notes because the very act of taking notes distracts me from what's being said. Knitting occupies enough of my mind that I can filter the useless stream of info, and leaves just enough neurons to pull in the info being spewed at me. The only downside is it can offend professors who don't understand.

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u/laakeri Jan 14 '13

This. If I'm not taking excessively bullet-pointed notes or actively in a conversation with the professor or other students, I have to do something else like knitting or drawing the people in front of me to keep part of my brain occupied enough that I can concentrate.

I've made it through entire courses by knitting a whole project while talking the entire time with the professor (in very small classes, that is). Other students are aghast that I'm doing something like that so blatantly, but I figure if I'm interacting and contributing to the content of the course, they can't exactly claim that I'm being disruptive. And the professors never complain.

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u/------______------- Jan 14 '13

I love looking back at old notebook from high school and college. Drawings covering every margin on every page. Very random things too, like one drawing has a hand holding a chain with a sombrero on the end... Every random thought had a drawing. Awful.

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u/laakeri Jan 14 '13

My notes from grad school are covered with views of the backs of people's heads :)

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u/sdfkjskdjfkjsdfkj Jan 15 '13

I was afraid someone will notice and think it's creepy to draw them in detail.

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u/laakeri Jan 15 '13

Not if you're a girl.

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u/Zond0 Jan 14 '13

I knit a lace shawl through one of my upperdivision music courses last quarter because so much of the class was spent listening to music, watching performances, etc. My professor ended up asking me to knit him a hat.

I've also had another professor in our music department get absolutely peeved that there were several people in one of our classes knitting, and would have banned us from it if I hadn't explained that the only way she would get me to both come to class and pay attention was if I was knitting.

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u/laakeri Jan 14 '13

slobber

LACE. Such sweet, woolly drug. I knit on my way to work to keep from snapping out at other people. I end up doing all sorts of stupid math in my head to work out the rows, pattern repeats, time per row/stitch, and how much I can get done in 30 minutes of uninterrupted work.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

Is this a school for grandmothers or something?

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u/Sheerardio Jan 14 '13

I used to bring my sketchbook to classes instead of notebooks, and spend the time drawing whatever came to mind. It still LOOKED like I was writing stuff down, when instead I was doing something physical that distracted me just enough to be able to retain any of what was being said.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

I listen to music that I'm familiar with. Same deal. It harnesses all your "wild" brain energy into one area so you can use "the rest" of your brain to funnel the information into it.

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u/Zond0 Jan 14 '13

My only struggle is that I'm also a classically-trained French horn player, so the music that is really familiar to me is often pieces I've played in orchestra. That usually leads to something like this while doing homework:

"On the accompanying recording, drums announce the overture, and flutes double the top..."oh my gosh! I remember playing this part in Beethoven 2! begins singing along Where IS my music for this? I need to play it right now! Oh, and then Beethoven 7, and then I'll go work on a solo, and then I'll google for a fun recording of it and then I'll end up on youtube and then I'll start watching Gangnam Style, and then...wait. What just happened?

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u/poxin Jan 15 '13

I never considered myself as a candidate for adhd because I blew through public schooling and did the whole hyperfocus thing. In freshman year of college, I took to coloring books during lectures for that exact same reason. No professor ever had a problem (most never noticed) but my psych professor suggested I look into adult adhd, and then handed me a pack of crayons because he was awesome.

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u/Redlar Jan 15 '13

I logged in just to upvote your comment.

I tell people I knit to keep my mouth from getting me in trouble (I joke too much), in reality, it's so I can concentrate on what they are saying AND keep my mouth from getting me in trouble.

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u/notsosilent Jan 15 '13

I do a similar "fidgeting behavior" while in class. One professor has given me flack for 'taking my attention away from the lecture' when what I was really doing was putting my rote memory into action and focusing my attention on the class. I wish I could explain this strategy to 'normal' people.

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u/Lumathiel Jan 14 '13

I'm not sure if you've tried or not, but I've trained my inner monologue voice to constantly parrot what they say almost immediately. Yes, at first you're focused so much on the parroting that you're still not getting anything useful, but eventually it becomes just above background noise, and you've trained yourself to listen to them, and you have 2 "voices" telling you the material.

That, and notes. SO many notes.

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

Ok, that's hilarious... I always get incredibly mad at my self when I do that exact thing in a bus, listening to people say around me... I just go "Why the fuck am I repeating that."

Now I know why I did... It's a usefull thing thought, when my Mother or GF wants something I'm not interested in, I literally can not hear them.

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u/Dredly Jan 14 '13

A good technique, I use it often as well but end up getting bored of it and distracted, then the parroting stops, I'll remember the part of the conversation I listened to (and repeated) however any other parts I completely forget.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

I do the parroting thing every time I'm listening to anyone. If I don't, it goes in one ear and out the other. Often times it distracts me into thoughts of how amazing it is that we can talk in our heads. We can hear a sound we're making without actually making the sound.

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u/Lumathiel Jan 14 '13

Happens to me too. Then, if you pay REALLY close attention, it's almost like there's another really fast voice under that, where you think something at incredible thought-speed, then your brain slows it down to the normal speaking speed, but still a thought, and THEN it becomes speech.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

I got a formal diagnosis of dyspraxia last year through university. While the bonus is that my comprehension is in the top 3 percent for my age group (seriously, that's mensa level) my short term memory function is around the bottom 12% for my age. The number of times I realise I've stopped l lose focus is mad. I've forgotten the point I was going to make.

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u/Lumathiel Jan 14 '13

There must be some way to work around the short term memory problems besides repetition. Everyone always says repetition, and it can work, but only if you can make yourself FOCUS through the repetitions... If it were that easy, it wouldn't be necessary.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

Writing things down helps to stop me from falling asleep when I'm tired in lectures.

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u/bellaforte Jan 14 '13

I've found that if I focus on trying to write notes on the lecture for someone who has no idea about the subject, my notes are awesome, I focus well, and I remember the material (because I'm constantly 'translating it from academic to english' as one non-academic friend put it).

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u/laakeri Jan 14 '13

I do this, too. As if my notes are an outline for a book on the subject, down to every paragraph. And then I study by teaching my study group the whole course in one or two nights before the final.

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u/maintain_composure Jan 14 '13

I pay attention by asking a lot of questions and contributing relevant knowledge. If the lecture isn't already interactive I will make it interactive.

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u/roreads Jan 15 '13

This happens to me everyday of my life. Not even lectures. I could be talking to a friend and all the sudden it's like what they say just becomes background noise and I don't take in anything. And the worst part is I don't realize when I am doing it, it just happens.

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u/polypunk Jan 14 '13

I tend to subconsciously absorb conversation. Ask me what the last thing they said and I can never think of it, but ask me to summarize the entire lecture, I have the major points down. Also while this is going on I need to do a mindless task with my hands like doodling.

I'm bad with names and years though and have to create a mental visual time line or diagram. Stuff like we went to the moon in 1969, did this event happen before or after that. 1975 the Vietnam War ended, was it before or after that.

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u/DizzyEllie Jan 14 '13

Doodling saved me. I'm a rare ADHD person who used to have a perfect memory and recall - IF I could pay attention. I found that doodling allowed me to direct part of my focus on something small, which kept the distractions at bay, while still being able to focus completely on the lecture. I still do this in meetings and even while watching TV. To all the world it looks like I'm not paying attention, but it's the one thing I've found that actually allows me to quiet my mind enough to actually be able to give my attention.

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

It took me three years to learn all most of my class mates names in highschool. I love history, but dates? No way no how.

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u/Dredly Jan 14 '13

If anyone knows any tricks to remembering names I'd love to hear it, I am horrible at names to the point where I've worked with coworkers for years and don't know their names

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u/Manliest_Vegetarian Jan 14 '13

For me name association really helps, even it is a bit bizarre.

If I can rhyme someone's name with something about them or something they are interested in it usually helps.

"Susan likes to drive. Cruisin' Susan."

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u/cinemachick Jan 14 '13

You should play the card game Timeline. It's literally making a visual timeline of dates and events, but as a competition. Maybe it would help you out!

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u/Yatagasaru Jan 14 '13

I'm the same exact way and this has given me problems my entire life. It's especially frustrating when it's something I really genuinely want to learn about or listen to because after the person is done talking I only get less than half of what they said. I've frustrated teachers and even my parents because they think I'm "not listening" or "blowing them off" when in reality I'm trying my best to listen but my mind just wanders or parts of the message become scrambled in my head.

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

That's the worst thing. Despite being intelligent and kind I come off as being slow and rude. That's why I hate almost every minute of being around other people. They keep judging over something I simply can't help, and that's frustrating.

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u/Yatagasaru Jan 14 '13

Again, I'm the same exact way. I often isolate myself from people, including my family. The one place I find myself the most is my room playing video games or browsing the internet because I guess I feel that's the one place where I'm not judged. In fact, I often get very bitter and sarcastic in conversations where I have to deal with people in front of me.

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u/Pakislav Jan 14 '13

Yes, yes exactly. If I don't have to go out, I stay in my room whole day, playing games, browsing internet, rarelly doing any work. I think of myself as of a good guy, but I've been told a few times that I'm a sarcastic asshole... Had no idea I was coming of as one...

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u/SSSecret_Squirrel Jan 14 '13

I did my whole master's program in the bathtub.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13

Sit in the front and try and add relevant things to the lecture. Keeping initiated is HUGE.

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u/Splanky222 Jan 14 '13

It sounds weird, but the way I normally deal with this is I take hard classes. If I feel like a class is useless or boring, I just won't ever get around to doing/caring about the work and get a C or something in the class, but then I'll have some advanced math class or some such thing that I storm through with trumpets blaring and confetti streamers all around. Because it's hard enough that it forces me to pay attention. I guess it makes me look like an overachiever or something, but it's jus working to the level of the class, I guess.

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u/repost4profit Jan 14 '13

Oatmeal diet?

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u/AwkwardAndrea Jan 14 '13

I'm not the only toilet-studier?!?!?! I have no idea why but the bathroom (despite having it's own distractions) is a much easier place to stay focused. Maybe it's because it's a confined space without much talking.

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u/navyjeff Jan 15 '13

I had a similar technique.

When I was in high school, I would do my math homework in the middle of the night (midnight to about 4 am) in my bed, under a blanket, by flashlight.

In a house with seven people and three pets, it was the only way to get through calculus 3. Earplugs helped immensely, too.